Page 116 of The Crimson Walls Of Algorath

“You are hurting her!” Emillie’s eyes filled with tears. She did not see the Rusan before her. She saw Ariadne, chained and tortured at the hands of a monster, forever changed from the sister she had once been. If she could have stopped that pain, she would have. Emillie would not turn her back on someone else who needed help.

“My Lady,” the woman said, her voice small, “I asked for this.”

Emillie’s mind whirled to a stop. Comprehension failed her as she looked at the woman. “You…asked…for this?”

Color spread across her cheeks. “I like it.”

Turning wide eyes on Alek, she could do nothing but gape.

“I told you I would show you one night,” Alek said, still speaking with caution. “I told you the rumors were not entirely true. I do not torture or kill women for my entertainment.”

“Then what is this?” Emillie took a step back, and he released his hold on her. “Forgive me. I am…trying to understand.”

“This is exactly as we have said,” Alek explained. “I enjoy…giving others pleasure. Some find their pleasure in pain. I would never do this to someone who has not first asked and consented.”

Pleasure in pain. It was not a concept Emillie was familiar with. Pain had always been just that. Emillie stared at the woman. “This is pleasurable to you?”

The woman nodded. “I shouldn’t have come tonight. It’s your wedding; I should’ve assumed—”

“I do not want to have sex with him.” The words left her before she could weigh them. Emillie bit her lip. She should not have said that aloud. Not in front of someone other than Alek or Kyra.

Alek understood her reasoning. This woman, however, was a stranger.

“Oh.” She frowned lightly. “Still, I’ll leave, my Lady. I meant no trouble.”

“No, no.” Emillie looked between them as everything clicked into place. “Wait. This is how you have sex?”

Alek nodded. “It is not for everyone, but I have found the combination to be quite thrilling.”

He unlocked the woman’s wrists, and she rubbed where they had been held and cut. The wounds were already closed, despite her Rusan lineage. She dipped her head and said, “My name is Siobhan. He hired me so I could stay close.”

Emillie surveyed her with growing interest. It was certainly a lot to take in for one night. “I see. I suppose this is merely something I have never heard of before. You swear to me this was consensual?”

“Of course, my Lady.” Siobhan’s confusion only seemed to grow. “You…don’t mind me in his bed?”

She raised her brows. “You were hardly in his bed.”

“Well, sometimes, we—”

“The details are not necessary right now.” Emillie held up a hand, then turned to Alek. “I am certain I will have plenty of questions later.”

“I should have told you sooner,” Alek said with a wince. “I thought you were…occupied today.”

“I came to thank you, actually.” Emillie almost laughed at the strangeness of it all. A weight lifted from her chest as she realized just how much more intriguing their companionship had become. One found pleasure in women while the other found it in pain. “Thank you for all you have done for me. For Kyra.”

Alek gaped for a moment, then inclined his head. “Anything for you.”

She turned to leave but paused and pivoted again. “Alek.”

“Yes?” He had not moved an inch, still staring at her as though she would attack at any moment.

“If you ever want me to bear your children,” Emillie said and looked around the room, “then you will be sure this room is clean when I come to your bed. It is only fair to me…and to Siobhan. To whomever you have in here.”

To her surprise, Alek laughed and nodded. “Of course.”

“Good day, then.” Emillie turned to the Rusan woman. “And to you, Siobhan.”

“My Lady.” She sketched a bow.

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